“He’s a college wrestler,” Zachrich told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) of his opponent. “He holds some records for his school and all that fun stuff. He’s a tough, game kid that’s not afraid to get in there and fight anybody. So it’s a big test with me coming back after this long of a layoff, but this is the path I want to take. I want to fight the toughest guys out there that aren’t signed (to a major promotion) right now.”

Zachrich, who was part of Forrest Griffin’s squad on “TUF 7,” blogged about the season and connected with MMAjunkie.com readers. But he never got an official UFC fight. And after his lone Bellator appearance, his back injuries put the breaks on his fighting career and forced the layoff.

“It started with injuries, but it was a good thing,” he said. “I herniated two discs in my lower back going into my last fight in Bellator. I didn’t realize how bad it was until after the fight. I was in horrible pain, but you can’t pass up an opportunity to be in a tournament like that.”

Zachrich opted against surgery, focused on rehabilitating the injuries, and said he’s now feeling better. It’s reignited the Ohio fighter’s desire to get back in the cage, which led to tonight’s booking.

“It was really good mentally for me to take the time off,” he said. “My body is back 100 percent to where I haven’t felt this good in years basically, since I was 26 years old basically.”

In addition to opening Ronin Training Center in downtown Columbus, he’s helped expand his family’s chain of Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers restaurants. The gourmet-pizza shops have been a hit in Columbus, and he plans to soon open a third (or even fourth) location.

But in addition to his pizza empire, he’s been working hard on his fight game. In 10 career wins, Zachrich owns 10 stoppages, including six submissions. But both his career losses also came via submission.

So with a healthy back and stable life outside the cage, Zachrich has focused on his Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which he expects to be on display tonight when he finally returns to the cage.

“It’s not like I sat on my butt the entire time I was off,” he said. “It helped me work on one of the weaker points of my game and make it one of my strongest.”

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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